B.R.A.S.S. revamps image; pushes for more cyclists

BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) - It's no secret; getting around Baton Rouge can be a challenge, especially if you're traveling on two wheels.

"Baton Rouge structurally has some issues with bike-ability. You've got a major interstate highway running through going down to one lane. There's always a lot of traffic. There are some high traffic, high speed roads, said Beaux Jones of Bike Baton Rouge.

However, there are a few places in town where biking is made easy, like on the levee path and the under construction Wards Creek Path that will connect several major surface roads. It's those short easy bike trips, of two miles or less, that Bike Baton Rouge is hoping more people will take advantage of.

"Hopefully with more people on the road and with more people in the bike saddle that down the road we can have some big infrastructure changes to where the city can be friendlier to bikers and cars alike," said Jones.

The key to making Baton Rouge more bike-able, according to Jones, is to get people to use the available paths more. As more people bike, the more there will be a need for additional paths and infrastructure.

Bike Baton Rouge is also known as Baton Rouge Advocates for Safe Streets. For 2013, the group is announcing a revamped image and a new goal of getting more people to bike the easy trips. They also hope to get more businesses to embrace cyclists.

"To say we support bikers, we're going to put bike racks, we're going to put showers for our employees, we're going to put pumps and tool stations and benefits for people who come by bike to our stores," said Jones.

Many business are already joining the movement. The Buzz Café in downtown Baton Rouge, for example, added a bike rack about six months ago.

"I think it's a wonderful idea. As a matter of fact, we have a couple of staff members here that actually ride their bikes to work," said the Buzz Café assistant manager Jacqueline Koehn.

If you're interested in getting your business involved in Bike Baton Rouge, or in the Easy Trip Initiative, click here.